Real Madrid's Struggles Without Rodri: A Midfield Crisis
Real Madrid are discovering what it costs to say no to Rodri.
They had the chance. They walked away. Now, with every difficult game, the bill lands on José Mourinho’s desk.
A midfield without a conductor
Inter Milan exposed it brutally. Madrid’s midfield, packed with athletes and big names, lacked the one thing Barcelona enjoy every week: a controller of Rodri’s level.
According to Sport, Mourinho’s side struggle to dictate matches. They don’t suffocate opponents, they don’t pin them back. They wait. They spring. Quick transitions are the main plan, designed to unleash Vinícius, Mbappé and Bellingham in the final third.
It looks devastating when it works. The problem is what happens in between.
Teams are starting to read it. They win the ball back too easily, break Madrid’s shape and turn those moments into chances of their own. Thibaut Courtois has already had to clean up more than once. The feeling inside the club is clear: they did not exhaust every option to bring in Rodri when they could, and they are now paying for that decision.
Instead, Madrid pushed for a different profile. They preferred the more attacking Bernardo Silva, a player Barcelona turned down. The result? Tchouaméni, Valverde and Camavinga are still tasked with building the play, even though none of them offer Rodri’s range as a metronome.
The construction phase remains the loose thread in Mourinho’s project.
Short-term patches, long-term problem
Ideas for makeshift solutions are on the table. Arda Güler drifting inside to help. Trent Alexander-Arnold stepping into midfield zones. Clever tweaks, creative even, but still just patches.
None of them truly replace what Rodri brings: control, calm, the ability to dictate the rhythm of a big European night.
That is why Madrid have already started working ahead of the winter transfer window. The priority is clear: sign a deep-lying midfielder who can anchor and organise. The name at the top of the list is one they chased in the summer and might now find within reach.
Martín Zubimendi.
Zubimendi’s shrinking role at Arsenal
In England, the predictions have begun. If Zubimendi’s situation at Arsenal does not change, January will be noisy.
His role has shrunk. The Spaniard has started all five of Arsenal’s official matches this season on the bench. The most telling moment came in the Champions League clash with Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium: a high-stakes game, a hostile arena, and Zubimendi watched almost all of it from the touchline, given only eight minutes at the end.
This is not a new pattern. His struggle for minutes stretches back to the end of last season. In the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, he sat out the full 90 minutes and only came on in extra time.
When he does play, he delivers. That part has never been in doubt. Even so, Mikel Arteta continues to trust other options in his position. For a player who left Real Sociedad to become a central figure, that pecking order will start to bite.
Spain form fuels Madrid interest
Real Madrid’s admiration for Zubimendi is no secret. His performances for Spain have only strengthened their conviction.
When Rodri suffered a serious injury, Zubimendi stepped into the national team’s midfield and ran it with authority. He handled the responsibility, and he did it on the biggest stages: the second half of the Euro 2024 final, extra time in the 2026 World Cup final. Those are the moments that stick in the minds of decision-makers at the Bernabéu.
Arsenal paid 70 million euros to sign him last season and tied him down until 2030. His current market value should sit in a similar bracket. For Arsenal, that would mean recouping their investment. For Madrid, it is a price they would not consider excessive for a long-term solution in a key position.
A crowded market, a familiar rival
Madrid will not be alone at the table.
Chelsea are also keen, with Xabi Alonso driving the interest. Alonso already wanted Zubimendi when he was a candidate for the Real Madrid job, before Florentino Pérez decided against appointing him and chose a different path.
Now the scenario has flipped. Alonso is at Chelsea, still chasing the same midfielder. Madrid are back in the race for a player they once considered, while living with the consequences of the one they let slip.
If Mourinho is to turn his team from a devastating transition machine into a side that truly controls Europe’s biggest nights, this winter may define how far – and how fast – Real Madrid can evolve.
